Few could imagine the panorama of today’s Prague without the majestic Baroque dome with the slender bell tower of St. Nicholas Church, which rises below Prague Castle. However, it is only one of nearly two hundred jewels that the talented Kilián Ignác helped to shape and that have given the Czech landscape its characteristic face over the centuries. Anyone who is inspired by the grandiosity and dynamism of the era of great wigs should visit at least one of his Prague churches. The Dientzenhofer dynasty of builders came from the spa village of Bad Feilnbach in Bavaria. From its ranks came seven builders who influenced the architecture of Baroque Europe. The head of the family, Kryštof Dientzenhofer, came to Prague in 1685, when he married Anna, the daughter of the builder Jan Jiří Aichbauer, and thus acquired an established building firm. Their last, fifth child was Kilián Ignác. He was born a short distance from the Charles Bridge. He studied philosophy and mathematics at the University of Prague and then went abroad to gain experience. He stayed in Vienna, Venice, Rome, Milan, Florence and Naples. From these travels he brought to Prague a flair for ornamentation and delicacy of detail, which is evident in Prague’s magnificent Baroque buildings. He gained his first experience under his father’s supervision in 1716 on the construction of the Břevnov Monastery, where Benedictine monks worked. The prior of the monastery soon became his friend, often lending him his carriage for his travels in Bohemia and urging his subordinates to arrange for the company of a learned man in the carriage, for the master builder liked to discuss theology. The Basilica of St. Margaret is a national cultural monument. The Břevnov brewery has been brewing beer since 993, making it the oldest beer production site in the Czech Republic. Baroque library of Klementinum, photo: Martin Faltejsek Another of Dientzenhofer’s achievements is the Church of St. Nicholas on Old Town Square, which, due to its impressive height, was used, among other things, for rope-walking exhibitions held in its dome. In 1791, it witnessed a stunt by the French aerialist Jean-Pierre Blanchard, who crossed the wooden footbridge from one tower to another. Later, the church served the Orthodox Church until 1914, as indicated by the monumental chandelier in the shape of the Tsar’s crown dedicated by Nicholas II. Since 1920, the premises of the church have been used by the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. Not far from Prague Castle is another of Dientzenhofer’s buildings, the Loreto pilgrimage complex with the Holy Hut, the Church of the Nativity of the Lord, a treasure chest, a clock tower and the world-famous chimes that ring out the Marian song every hour. It is shrouded in a number of legends and legends relating to the 27 Dutch bells and the curious wooden statue of the Holy Mayor. This figure of a bearded crucified girl in an embroidered robe, hidden on the side altar of the oldest corner chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows, has inspired many writers and poets since the 17th century. Dientzenhofer built more than two hundred buildings in the Czech Republic that we still admire today. After his death in December 1751, he was buried in the family tomb in the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Karmelitská Street, which now houses the Czech Museum of Music.